Bradley Tusk

Bradley Tusk (born October 3, 1973) is an American businessman, venture capitalist, political strategist, and writer.[1] He is the founder and CEO of Tusk Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on investing in early-stage startups in regulated industries.[2] His foundation Tusk Philanthropies focuses on mobile voting and anti-hunger policy campaigns in the United States.[3][4] He is also the chairman of IG Acquisition Corp,[5][6] a SPAC planning to acquire a business in the leisure, gaming and hospitality industries.[7] Tusk is the host of the podcast Firewall,[8] is a columnist for Fast Company,[9] and is the author of The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics.[10]

Bradley Tusk
Bradley Tusk (2019)
Born (1973-10-03) October 3, 1973
Occupations
  • Political strategist
  • Venture capitalist

He previously served as the campaign manager for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's successful 2009 re-election bid, as Deputy Governor of Illinois, as Communications Director for US Senator Chuck Schumer[11] and as an early political advisor to Uber.[12]

Early life and education

Bradley Tusk was raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and in Nassau County, Long Island.[13] Tusk is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he received his BA in 1995.[14] He has a JD from the University of Chicago Law School, which he received in 1999.[15]

Politics and Government

Pennsylvania

Tusk began his career in politics as an undergraduate student working for the former Mayor of Philadelphia, Ed Rendell.[16]

New York

After graduating from college, Tusk became the spokesperson for the New York City Parks Department and helped run various divisions of the agency, most notably launching a successful campaign to change the way New Yorkers obey the leash law.[17] Tusk later returned to serve as Senior Advisor[18] to New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern,[15]

Tusk then joined U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer as Communications Director from 2000-2002, handling communications, strategy, and policy for the Senator, most notably in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on New York City.[15]

In 2009, Tusk was named campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg's bid for a third term as Mayor of New York City.[19] After Bloomberg's re-election, Tusk joined his administration Michael Bloomberg,[20] as special advisor to the mayor, where he led a successful effort to re-write the New York City Charter to allow Bloomberg to serve a third term.[21] He also assisted with creating the Mayor's campaign promise index, making Bloomberg the nation's first public official to publicly report the status of each campaign promise.[15]

Tusk returned to New York City politics a decade later as an advisor and strategist for Andrew Yang's campaign in the 2021 New York City mayoral election, playing a unique role as both co-campaign managers were employees of his firm.[22] After referring to Yang as an "empty vessel" in a March interview,[23] critics warned that “Tusk could essentially be the shadow mayor for New York, while he is representing the interests of big corporate clients.” Tusk responded to the allegations, declaring “if we win, I will not lobby or talk with the new mayor — nor anyone in a Yang administration — on any matter that intersects with our work” in a statement.[22] After Yang lost by an unexpectedly wide margin, Yang's former advisers criticized Tusk Strategies for avoiding freewheeling press conferences that were a feature of his Presidential campaign. [24]

Illinois

In 2003, Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed Tusk to be Deputy Governor of Illinois. In the position, Tusk failed to file required financial disclosure reports on at least three occasions.[25] Tusk has said that he thinks Mr. Blagojevich may have hired him believing that because of his relative youth and inexperience he wouldn’t notice the scams Blagojevich's administration was pulling. In 2006, Mr. Tusk resigned; three years later, Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office.[26] Tusk testified as a witness in the criminal trial of Blagojevich, which ended in Blagojevich's conviction, recounting the occasion when Blagojevich asked him to hold up a government grant until a fundraiser was held. Tusk said at trial that he put a stop to the plans and reported the incident to the chief ethics officer.[27]

Among the accomplishments Tusk cites from his time as deputy governor are efforts to make Illinois the first state to guarantee health care for all children, the first state to offer pre-school to all 3- and 4-year olds, the first state to import prescription drugs from Europe and Canada, and the first state to convert its entire tollway system to Open Road Tolling.[28]

Private sector

After serving as Deputy Governor of Illinois, Tusk was hired as a senior vice president at Lehman Brothers, where he created the lottery monetization group and headed all of its efforts regarding U.S. based lotteries.[29] Combining his backgrounds in finance and politics, Tusk developed a successful framework to help states monetize their lotteries.[30]

In 2015, Tusk ran a public affairs campaign for Uber that included television, radio, and digital ads as well as direct mail and grassroots organizing in opposition to a cap on rideshare vehicles proposed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.[31] The campaign argued that "the company was good for the city, providing jobs and transportation for less affluent residents in the outer boroughs."[32] The bill was dropped before it reached a vote.[33] After the campaign's success in New York City, Tusk moved onto other places like Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Denver and Washington D.C.[34] For his representation of Uber, Tusk was compensated with equity in the company estimated to be worth $100 million.[22] The experience also provided him with exposure to the world of venture capital,[35] and Tusk Ventures was launched two weeks after the New York City victory.[36]

In 2022, Tusk opened a bookstore on the Lower East Side called P&T Knitwear.[37] In addition to being a bookstore, P&T Knitwear also has a podcast studio and an 80-seat amphitheater.[38]

Tusk Strategies

In 2011 Tusk founded Tusk Strategies, which is the first firm dedicated to helping startups navigate political issues and is based in New York City. [39] The firm develops and runs campaigns for companies, including Google, Walmart, AT&T, Pepsi, FanDuel, and institutions including Stanford University, the Rockefeller Foundation and Texas A&M, and individuals including Michael Bloomberg and George Lucas.[40]

Tusk Strategies also conducts issue advocacy campaigns around education reform and government; campaigns to help political candidates, non-profits and trade associations.[41]

Tusk Ventures

In 2015, Tusk launched Tusk Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in startups facing political and regulatory challenges or pursuing political and governmental opportunities. His work with startups began in 2011, when he worked with transportation startup Uber, which was contesting with regulation proposed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (CE) of New York City.[42]

Tusk Ventures has worked with over three dozen startups including Bird, FanDuel, Lemonade, Handy, Eaze, Nexar, GlamSquad, Ripple, MainStreet, Nurx, Ro, Kodiak Robotics, pymetrics, Grove and Care/Of, solving a variety of political, regulatory and media challenges solely in return for equity in each company and for investment rights in each company's next round of financing.[43][44]

Tusk Venture Partners 1 raised its first fund in 2016 and began deploying capital into startups including Lemonade,[45] Nexar, Care/Of, Circle, Coinbase, Bird, Ro and FanDuel.[46][47]

Ivory Gaming Group

Ivory Gaming Group was co-founded by Bradley Tusk and Christian Goode in 2015 to develop and manage casinos, including their day-to-day operations which include food and beverage services, marketing and media.[48]

Tusk Philanthropies

Tusk created Tusk Philanthropies.[49] In 2017, Tusk Philanthropies launched an initiative to popularize the need for mobile voting to citizens and elected officials across the country.[50] The services Tusk has backed so far are based on blockchain technology, but he has stated that he is open to other technologies. However, David Dill of Verified Voting, and the National Election Defense Coalition have expressed skepticism of these efforts, based on their belief that any internet-based voting system would be vulnerable to manipulation, either by hackers or by the company owning the system.[50]

Published works

In 2018, Tusk wrote The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics (published by Penguin Group).[51] According to colleagues, the book "takes more credit than he deserves" for Tusk's political consulting achievements.[22]

See also

References
  1. Wolfe, Alexandra (2018-08-31). "How Bradley Tusk Went from Political Insider to 'Making Politicians Crazy'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  2. "Silicon Valley's favorite fixer: Bradley Tusk". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  3. "Mobile Voting Project". Mobile Voting Project. Archived from the original on 2011-08-30. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  4. Wilkes, Mackenzie (2022-12-31). "States put free school meals on the menu". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. Information, Kate Clark · 2020-09-08T22:02:35+00:00 · Source: The. "Briefing: Political Strategist and Tech Investor Bradley Tusk Forms SPAC". The Information. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  6. "Sponsor Team". IG Acquisition Corp. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  7. "UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  8. "LISTEN: How countries, individuals can help make world safer from cyber attacks". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  9. Tusk, Bradley (2020-08-03). "Zuck, Bezos, Cook: Who takes the fall in D.C.'s antitrust games?". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  10. "How a Bare-Knuckled Political Brawler Got His Mojo in the World of Venture Capital". Observer. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  11. Rubinstein, Dana; Nahmias, Laura. "Uber rewrites the book on beating de Blasio". Capital New York. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  12. Johnson, Eric (2016-10-10). "Full transcript: Political consultant Bradley Tusk on Recode Decode". Vox. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  13. "The Rise Of Bradley Tusk, Silicon Valley's Political Savior". Fast Company. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  14. "Paths in Public Service Featuring Bradley Tusk". Roosevelt House. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  15. "Bradley Tusk '99: A Big Name in the Big Apple, and Beyond". The University of Chicago. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015. Tusk...is widely credited with spearheading the administration's most notable successes, such as broadly expanding medical insurance for children, and for effectively overseeing a massive proportion of the state's operations, including its $60 billion budget and its 57,000-person workforce.
  16. Bissinger, Buzz (2015-04-15). A Prayer for the City. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9781101969915.
  17. Shattuck, Kathryn (1996-02-11). "F.Y.I." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  18. Martin, Douglas. "Leash Patrol Touts Victory In City Parks; Next, Pit Bulls". The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2015. The tougher approach to the leash law was the brainchild of Mr. Tusk, the agency's former spokesman, who had left his job for two years to attend the University of Chicago Law School.
  19. "Chief Factor in Mayor's Race: Bloomberg Influence". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  20. Rashid, Brian. "5 Leadership Lessons I Learned Working For Mayor Bloomberg". Forbes. Retrieved August 2, 2015. A man named Bradley Tusk ran the Mayor's entire campaign. He was a genius. We loved Bradley. He was brilliant, yet approachable.
  21. Johnson, Eric (October 10, 2016). "Full transcript: Political consultant Bradley Tusk on Recode Decode". Vox. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  22. Rubinstein, Dana; Fitzsimmons, Emma (May 6, 2021). "The Wealthy Lobbyist Behind Andrew Yang's Campaign for Mayor". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  23. Smith, Ben (May 2, 2021). "Help, We Can't Stop Writing About Andrew Yang". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  24. Walker, Hunter (June 22, 2021). "Yang Presidential Campaign Advisers Blame Tusk Strategies For 'Crashing' His Mayoral Bid". Vox. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  25. "Bloomberg's Dark Knight: Where's the Financial Info?". Village Voice. March 25, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  26. Wolfe, Alexandra (August 31, 2018). "How Bradley Tusk Went from Political Insider to 'Making Politicians Crazy'". Wall Street Journal.
  27. Tarm, Michael (June 21, 2010). "Ex-aide: Blagojevich told him to pressure Emanuel". Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  28. Keith, Ryan (December 16, 2006). "Deputy governor leaving town". pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  29. "Privatizing the Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  30. "Bradley Tusk". Tpl.org. The Trust for Public Land. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  31. Flegenheimer, Matt (2015-07-22). "De Blasio Administration Dropping Plan for Uber Cap, for Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
  32. Kessler, Sarah (2016-10-24). "The Rise Of Bradley Tusk, Silicon Valley's Political Savior". Fast Company. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  33. Flegenheimer, Matt (2015-07-22). "De Blasio Administration Dropping Plan for Uber Cap, for Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  34. Kessler, Sarah (2016-10-24). "The Rise Of Bradley Tusk, Silicon Valley's Political Savior". Fast Company. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  35. Grandoni, Dino (August 2, 2015). "Political Consultant for Uber to Advise Other Start-Ups". New York Times Bits Blog. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  36. Jorgensen, Jillian (2015-09-09). "How Bradley Tusk Is Helping Startups Like Uber Wage Campaign-Style War on City Hall". Observer. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  37. Barron, James (24 April 2023). "Writers Are Rewarded for Their Books About New York". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  38. Marcus, Ezra (11 August 2022). "The Independent Bookstore, as Imagined by a Corporate Lobbyist". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  39. "Bradley Tusk | Chicago Ideas". www.chicagoideas.com. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  40. Loizos, Connie. "Silicon Valley's favorite fixer: Bradley Tusk". Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  41. Gabriel, Trip; Medina, Jennifer (2010-05-09). "Hedge Funds' Leaders Rally for Charter Schools". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  42. Grandoni, Dino (August 2, 2015). "Political Consultant for Uber to Advise Other Start-Ups". New York Times Bits Blog. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  43. Kessler, Sarah (2016-10-24). "The Rise Of Bradley Tusk, Silicon Valley's Political Savior". Fast Company. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  44. "Tusk Ventures | Companies". tuskventures.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  45. Simpson, Andrew (2016-12-05). "Insurtech Lemonade Wins $34 Million in New Funding As It Readies for West Coast Expansion". Insurance Journal. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  46. Loizos, Connie (April 4, 2017). "Tusk Ventures quietly held a first close on $25 million for its debut fund | TechCrunch". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  47. "Term Sheet -- Monday, December 17". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
  48. "Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians ("Tribe") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned tribal enterprise, Chukchansi Economic Development Authority ("CEDA"), is making substantial progress in re-opening their world-class gaming facility, Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino". PR Newswire. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  49. "Tusk Philanthropies | Our Mission". tuskphilanthropies.com. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  50. "The Campaign for Mobile-Phone Voting Is Getting a Midterm Test". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  51. Wolfe, Alexandra (2018-08-31). "How Bradley Tusk Went from Political Insider to 'Making Politicians Crazy'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
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